If the game doesn’t at least meet that, it’ll get nowhere even within the hardcore market and even less outside. Most people will rent it once and then never speak of it again.

But if it can do those two things, there’s a chance for outsiders to try it, like and learn from it. As they learn the controls they’ll have to learn about grappling and the “boring” stuff.

I’m not sure how I feel about the bringing in of a video game, as a hardcore fan of the sport long before all of the mainstream stuff came in, but I guess publicity is publicity, and this is about the best that it can get.

If the game does well, it’ll definitely help the sport out. I’m not sure how much it will contribute to the popularity of the sport, as I think that the guys who will be buying it will be fans already, but I can see how it might contribute to the spread of info through other groups, instead of just fight fans, and that seems like a good possibility.

That said, I’m a little bit thrown by who they are calling “in” the video game. I understand that it’s a UFC game, but the list of confirmed fighters looks a little bit wierd to me. I mean, the guys I expect to be on this list:

Tim Sylvia
Andrei Arlovski
Big Nog
Quinton Jackson
Chuck Liddell
Tito Ortiz
Anderson Silva
Rich Franklin
GSP
Matt Hughes
BJ Penn
Sean Sherk

But Matt Arroyo?

I guess the fact that he’s mentioned explicitly bugs me a little, while four champions and a half-dozen former champions aren’t. Anyway, it’ll be an interesting game, I’ll definitely pick up a copy.